The map above shows two different locations
for Valdez. The first, Old Valdez, represents to the town's location
before the 1964 tsunami, and the second, New Valdez, its location
after the tsunami. The reasons for this move are clear if one
examines the chain of events that occurred following the 1964
earthquake.

The town of Valdez (Old Valdez) was built
on unconsolidated deltaic sands and gravels, which are extremely
unstable during shaking. Thus, the shock waves from the 1964
earthquake that struck Valdez immediately caused the sediments
under the waterfront area to spontaneously liquefy (a condition
where sediments essentially behave as a liquid, loosing all load
bearing capacity), which caused a large section of the delta
(approximately 4,000 feet long by 600 feet wide) to slump into
Port Valdez. Aside from sending most of the Valdez Port Facilities
to the bottom of Port Valdez, the slump displaced a large volume
of water, generating a local tsunami. Since all of this occurred
before the earthquake shaking ended, the town had no warning
at all, and all people on the town docks at the time were killed
by the tsunami. The combined effects of the earthquake, and the
30- to 40-foot local tsunami, destroyed most of the waterfront,
and caused damage a considerable distance inland. To make things
worse, the forces caused the tanks at the Union Oil Company to
rupture, which started a fire that spread across the entire waterfront,
finishing off the few structures still standing. The photos below
illustrate the scene at Valdez in the days following the tsunami.
Smaller waves from the main tectonic tsunami struck Valdez several
hours after the local tsunami, but their effect was minimal,
as there was nothing left too destroy.

In addition to ruining Valdez, the local
tsunami affected other areas of Port Valdez as well. At Cliff
Mine the tsunami runup was 170 feet (see figure), and a runup
in excess of 100 feet was reported in Shoup Bay (see figure).

After suffering through the tsunami experience
of 1964, the town of Valdez was rebuilt at it's present location
(New Valdez), situated at a higher elevation, and on more stable
ground, to offer greater protection from tsunamis.